BEIRUT — A “fragile” cease-fire brokered by the U.N. took hold in Syria on Thursday with regime forces apparently halting widespread attacks on the opposition.
But scattered violence was reported and the government defied demands to pull troops back to barracks, drawing criticism from international envoy Kofi Annan.
Mr. Annan told the U.N. Security Council that he was “encouraged” that the truce appeared to be holding but warned the Syrian regime has failed to implement key demands such as withdrawing troops and heavy weapons from cities and towns.
He urged the 15-nation council to demand that President Bashar Assad’s government keep its promises and called for the speedy deployment of an observer mission, according to U.N. diplomats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because Mr. Annan’s briefing was behind closed doors.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said the onus is on Mr. Assad’s regime to keep the peace.
“As of this moment, the situation looks calmer,” he told reporters in Geneva, but added the cease-fire is “very fragile” and a single gunshot could derail the process.
In the hours after the 6 a.m. deadline, at least four civilians were reported killed - three by sniper fire - and the state-run news agency said “terrorist groups” detonated a roadside bomb that killed a soldier.
But there was no sign of the heavy shelling, rocket attacks and sniper fire that have become almost routine.
If the truce holds, it would be the first time the regime has observed an internationally brokered cease-fire since Mr. Assad’s regime initiated a violent crackdown 13 months ago on mass protests calling for his ouster.
However, troops intensified searches at checkpoints, tightening controls ahead of possible large-scale protests Friday called by the opposition to test the regime’s commitment to the plan.
There was deep skepticism that the regime would halt its fire for long, given that Mr. Assad has broken promises in the past.
Also, the regime said Wednesday, on the eve of the truce deadline, that it reserves the right to respond to any aggression, potentially a pretext for breaking the truce.
Mr. Annan’s plan calls for the deployment of international observers and talks on a political transition once a truce is in place.
The initiative has broad international support, including from Assad allies Russia, China and Iran, and is widely seen as the last chance for diplomacy to end the violence.
The increasingly militarized uprising has been veering toward an armed insurgency.
Analysts said the apparent halt in government attacks suggests Mr. Assad’s allies are pressuring him for the first time, after shielding him from international condemnation in the past.
Mr. Annan has visited Russia, Iran and China to get the broadest possible backing for the plan.
The West and its allies doubt the sincerity of the regime’s pledges to comply with the truce plan, which calls on the Syrian government to allow peaceful protests.
A prolonged cease-fire could threaten the regime by encouraging large numbers of protesters to take to the streets, as they did at the start of the revolt against the four-decade rule of the Assad clan.
The government met those demonstrations with a harsh crackdown, and more than 9,000 people have died since, according to the U.N.
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